Pre-order: Some unique strategies you need to use for your eCommerce store

May 21, 2020Jade Dinh

During the past few years, the pre-order button in any eCommerce website is becoming more and more important. This is because more suppliers and retailers are seeing the benefits of taking pre-orders online as they give a good idea of what the demand is and get a guaranteed number of sales. In other words, if you’re launching a new product, a pre-order strategy is a highly beneficial component to incorporate into your plan.

Pre-order button sample

Multinational companies such as Amazon, Apple and Microsoft also use the preorder functionality on their website to keep the production ongoing. However, if not done carefully, pre-orders can potentially damage your store’s reputation. So now, in this article, we would like to offer some top-notch, one-of-the-kind tactics of pre-order you may need for your eCommerce store.

But first, let’s go through some definitions.

What is “Pre-order”?

Pre-order definition

A pre-order is an order placed for an item that is not yet released. When you open pre-orders on your online store, you let your customers get the items they want beforehand. This could be done by reserving them in advance before they are officially available. As a result, customers can be notified about the product ASAP. An effective pre-order strategy works by creating a sense of excitement and exclusivity for customers about a product.

When should businesses use pre-order strategy?

As an eCommerce brand, you want to build hype and give customers a sense of excitement and urgency to order your product. Then, this can build momentum and increase demand. Because of the time and effort required to launch a strong pre-order strategy, pre-orders are best used for major company events or product launches, such as:

When should a business use a pre-order strategy?

Launching a new business into the market

A new flagship product in your range

Limited edition or special items, like a limited edition Thanksgiving product

Launching a big promotion or discounts on an existing product.

The unique strategies you may need

There may be chances that pre-orders don’t work for a certain product, if you use an obsolete tactic. Pre-order strategies need to be well-considered and well-executed to have the best chance of success. To ensure your business has the best chances of success, we’re here to give you some exotic, top-notch strategies for your store.

1. Social media optimization

Social media optimization

Pre-orders can be the perfect promotion for your social media channels. Your online pre-order campaign should create excitement around your item and get more eyeballs to your website. So, you should consider setting paid advertisements on social media platforms to entice your target audience. Channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter can help you a lot in boosting your site’s traffic, using pre-orders.

2. Build your perfect plan and timeline based on the pre-order cycle

Having a clear, simple way to accept payments will help your pre-orders run smoothly. The most important part of a product execution isn’t the day before launch or launch day. In fact, what a company does prior to a product launch matter far more to the success of the launch than the actual launch day itself. So, it’s important to work on a strong plan and a coordinated timeline that kicks off well before your actual launch date.

3. Communication is the key

Communication is the key

It’s also very important to maintain communication with everyone as you’re taking pre-orders online. Since you don’t have the item on-hand, you need to prepare for unforeseen situations such as production or shipping delays. Anytime there is an update, be sure to communicate this via multiple channels. This will help you a lot in traffic for your pre-orders. TL;DR: Don’t forget to inform your current customers using a variety of communication methods.

4. Create value and scarcity

Customers need a reason to pre-order rather than buying your product at launch. And giving them added value to thank them for ordering in advance is one solution. That means you are rewarding them for their support in pre-ordering your product. Also, another great way to drive demand and urgency is to create scarcity by appealing a customer’s FOMO. By doing so, you’re incentivizing customers to buy now rather than further hesitation.

5. Build a marketing campaign to drive awareness

Build a marketing campaign to drive awareness

It’s no use launching pre-orders for a product if nobody knows about it. This is why a strong marketing campaign is integral to your pre-order strategy. Advertising, PR strategies, CRM or just content is more than enough for you to raise the customers’ awareness. By building the right marketing campaign, you and your pre-orders will be on the eye of the customers, and future sales is waiting for your business.

6. Prepare yourself for a surge in orders and traffic

One of the most common mistakes businesses make in building their pre-order strategy is not preparing for success. The result can be websites go down because of a spike in traffic, or there isn’t enough inventory to keep up with the demand. In order to ensure this doesn’t happen, check the bandwidth of your website. This is for handling a spike in visitors, and implement a launch team to assist with any customer inquiries or orders.

Final words

That should be it! Here are some of the most exotic, one-of-a-kind yet awesome pre-orders strategies you may need to use for your eCommerce store. By integrating this button into your store, you and your business will be much better than ever. We – MageSolution offers to you guys with the best themes and extensions that can be compatible with your eCommerce site. Check us out now: MageSolution and ArrowHiTech portfolio.

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